October 2013

October 31, 2013

DALLAS -- Monta Ellis' debut with the Dallas Mavericks was an impressive sight for Mavs' fans to see.

Ellis poured in 32 points, dispensed eight assists and picked up a pair of steals as the Mavs derailed the Atlanta Hawks, 118-109, Wednesday night at American Airlines Center. In attack mode all night, Ellis converted 11-of-17 shots, including 2-of-3 three-pointers.

Coach Rick Carlisle knows opponents are going to now be on guard when it coming to trying to defend Ellis. But Carlisle knows how to overcome the homework done by the scouts.

"Teams are going to scout the situations that he's involved in,'' Carlisle said after Thursday's practice. "The things that’s hard to scout is when you get stops and get in transition and get into random play.

"That’s really one of the strengths of our team. When we can get him the ball randomly and set screen and rolls and get him going towards the basket, that’s a great situation.''

DALLAS -- Monta Ellis' debut with the Dallas Mavericks was an impressive sight for Mavs' fans to see.

Ellis poured in 32 points, dispensed eight assists and picked up a pair of steals as the Mavs derailed the Atlanta Hawks, 118-109, Wednesday night at American Airlines Center. In attack mode all night, Ellis converted 11-of-17 shots, including 2-of-3 three-pointers.

Coach Rick Carlisle knows opponents are going to now be on guard when it coming to trying to defend Ellis. But Carlisle knows how to overcome the homework done by the scouts.

"Teams are going to scout the situations that he's involved in,'' Carlisle said after Thursday's practice. "The things that’s hard to scout is when you get stops and get in transition and get into random play.

"That’s really one of the strengths of our team. When we can get him the ball randomly and set screen and rolls and get him going towards the basket, that’s a great situation.''

DALLAS -- Coach Rick Carlisle was happy that his Dallas Mavericks' squad was able to outrebound Atlanta, 42-33, during Wednesday's 118-109 victory over the Hawks.

But Carlisle is a very smart man. And he knows trying to snatch rebounds against Atlanta's Al Horford and Paul Millsap is totally different than trying to pick up some boards while boxing out Houston's Dwight Howard and Omer Asik.

"I’m really happy we had a good rebounding night,'' Carlisle said, referring to the game against the Hawks. "Houston’s going to be a lot different animal than Atlanta -- they’re starting two 7-footers out there.

"It's going to be two things. We’re going to have to put bodies on those guys and pursue the ball.''

Carlisle is hoping the activity his team had against the Hawks will be duplicated when the Mavs (1-0) play the Rockets (1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in Houston.

"Atlanta is a very active team, but they didn’t have the same kind of length as Houston,'' Carlisle said. "Last night there were some very good signs.

"We've just got to continue with it, and it’s going to be a heighten challenge tomorrow.''

DALLAS -- Coach Rick Carlisle was happy that his Dallas Mavericks' squad was able to outrebound Atlanta, 42-33, during Wednesday's 118-109 victory over the Hawks.

But Carlisle is a very smart man. And he knows trying to snatch rebounds against Atlanta's Al Horford and Paul Millsap is totally different than trying to pick up some boards while boxing out Houston's Dwight Howard and Omer Asik.

"I’m really happy we had a good rebounding night,'' Carlisle said, referring to the game against the Hawks. "Houston’s going to be a lot different animal than Atlanta -- they’re starting two 7-footers out there.

"It's going to be two things. We’re going to have to put bodies on those guys and pursue the ball.''

Carlisle is hoping the activity his team had against the Hawks will be duplicated when the Mavs (1-0) play the Rockets (1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in Houston.

"Atlanta is a very active team, but they didn’t have the same kind of length as Houston,'' Carlisle said. "Last night there were some very good signs.

"We've just got to continue with it, and it’s going to be a heighten challenge tomorrow.''

DALLAS --The Dallas Mavericks' bodies will be severely tested in the immediate future as they'll have an incredible six sets of back-to-backs during the month of November.

Three of those back-to-backs will occur in their next six games which will put a definite strain on the Mavs. Especially since those games will be played in five different cities.

"We cleaned some things up from (Wednesday's win over Atlanta), and we got some preparation in for Houston,'' coach Rick Carlisle said after Thursday's practice at American Airlines Center. "Every minute that we can practice right now is important.

"We just can’t overdue it because we have a lot of games. We’ve got three consecutive back-to-backscoming up and when you get in those situations, manpower and efficiency are really, really important.''

The Mavs play at Houston on Friday and at home Saturday against Memphis. On Tuesday the Mavs will host the Los Angeles Lakers, then play at Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

And on Nov. 8, the Mavs will face Minnesota on the road, then play at Milwaukee on Nov. 9.

DALLAS --The Dallas Mavericks' bodies will be severely tested in the immediate future as they'll have an incredible six sets of back-to-backs during the month of November.

Three of those back-to-backs will occur in their next six games which will put a definite strain on the Mavs. Especially since those games will be played in five different cities.

"We cleaned some things up from (Wednesday's win over Atlanta), and we got some preparation in for Houston,'' coach Rick Carlisle said after Thursday's practice at American Airlines Center. "Every minute that we can practice right now is important.

"We just can’t overdue it because we have a lot of games. We’ve got three consecutive back-to-backscoming up and when you get in those situations, manpower and efficiency are really, really important.''

The Mavs play at Houston on Friday and at home Saturday against Memphis. On Tuesday the Mavs will host the Los Angeles Lakers, then play at Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

And on Nov. 8, the Mavs will face Minnesota on the road, then play at Milwaukee on Nov. 9.

DALLAS -- Somewhat lost in all the Monta Ellis hype was the solid game Dirk Nowitzki played in Wednesday's season-opening 118-109 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Nowitzki converted 8-of-14 shots, was 4-of-6 from three-point range, scored 24 points, grabbed four rebounds and handed out five assists in 33 minutes. The 16-year veteran was sending a message that his game hasn't suffered any slippage, despite what some critics say.

Nowitzki usually goes to his native Germany and works out in the offseason. But he spent the balance of the offseason working out in Dallas.

"I guess the fact that we've seen him so much makes our perception a little bit different,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "But he’s always been ready to play and he’s always been so meticulous on everything.''

DALLAS -- Within the last two offseasons, the Dallas Mavericks have missed out on superstars Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard in free agency.

But that's not going to prevent owner Mark Cuban from swinging for the fences again.

Cuban said missing out on free agents -- no matter if they're at the top or bottom of the NBA food chain -- is just the reality of doing business in this league.

"It’s like a shooter is going to miss and you’ve got to think your next shot is going in, and that’s kind of the mentality I have,'' Cuban said Thursday. "You go out down there, you give it your best shot and if you miss I’m going to start hoisting up more shots.

October 30, 2013

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 118-109, in the season opener for both teams Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.

But the sloppy play of the Mavs in regards to protecting the basketball is not something coach Rick Carlisle wants to get accustomed to seeing on a regular basis.

The Mavs turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 26 points for the Hawks.

"Atlanta is a good team, but we have to look at some things and we have to quit jumping in the air and trying to decide what we're doing when we jump in the air,'' Carlisle said. "That's just not going to work.

"But looks, that's part of the growth process.''

Carlisle knows some of the turnovers are coming fast and furious because he has nine new players and they're trying to find each other's comfort zone.

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki played eight seasons with Jason Terry before the latter signed a free agent contract with the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2012.

The two won an NBA championship together in 2011 and also became fast friends.

Now, the new shooting guard on the Mavs' block who has essentially replaced Terry is Monta Ellis. And in Wednesday's 118-109 regular season opening win over the Atlanta Hawks at American Airlines Center, Ellis showed that his shooting touch is just as lethal as Terry's.

"Well, Jet is a little bit of a different player,'' Nowitzki said. "Jet's a great shooter, but Monta is so explosive off the pick-and-roll.

"If the (power forward) or (center) that's guarding me shows a little late, he's usually getting around them and getting to the basket and making all kinds of stuff happen for us.''

Ellis wound up with 32 points, eight assists and two steals. Those were the most points ever scored by a player in his first game with the Mavs.